[Click eStock] Hana Financial Investment: "Weldex, Stronger Sales Growth in Second Half Due to Expansion Effect"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Hana Financial Investment forecasted on the 28th that Waldeks, a semiconductor materials company, has completed expansion to meet demand following the semiconductor market growth, and with additional expansion planned within the year, sales are expected to increase more in the second half of the year than in the first half.

Waldeks is a company that supplies silicon and quartz (seok-yeong) used in etching processes, as well as alumina-based materials among semiconductor parts and materials. As of the first quarter of this year, the sales composition ratio is 57% silicon, 26% quartz (seok-yeong), and 17% alumina and others. Since 2018, consolidated annual sales have exceeded 100 billion KRW.

This is because the etching process in semiconductor manufacturing has become more challenging due to the increased layering of 3D-NAND, leading to a higher demand for parts and materials required for etching equipment. As of 2018, the proportion of high-layered 3D-NAND with 64 to 72 layers accounted for 61% worldwide, a significant increase from 13% in 2017. From 2019, the share of even higher-layered 92 to 128 layers increased to 21% in 2019, 57% in 2020, and 77% in 2021.

Kim Kyung-min, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, "As the front-end industry market grows, Waldeks has expanded its market share among overseas and domestic customers and completed expansion to meet demand," adding, "Additional expansion is underway this year, so sales growth is expected."

Waldeks' second-quarter sales are expected to slightly increase to 44 billion KRW from 43.1 billion KRW in the previous quarter. The annual sales for this year are projected to increase more in the second half than in the first half. The estimated sales for the first half are 87.1 billion KRW, and for the second half, 99.2 billion KRW.

Researcher Kim explained, "The reason for the 14% increase in sales in the second half compared to the first half is that the operational effects of equipment received after the expansion was completed in March this year will be fully reflected over six months in the second half, and the volume to customers in the U.S. and Japan will increase," adding, "Among the additional expansions in Korea and the U.S., it is estimated that the additional expansion volume of the U.S. corporation will likely contribute to sales within the year first."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.